Eight-year-old Ginger Vitus said her teeth have been hurting for months now, and everyday she looks in the mirror, she’s sees another tooth missing.
“My mommy tells me the tooth fairy loves me so much, she comes every night to take some more teeth,” Vitus said. “The only thing is, she is broke, so she doesn’t leave me any money.
“I just hope she doesn’t take all my teeth,” the second grader added. “I would like to continue eating.”
M’Tung Eez-Erden, a nine-year-old Santa Monica African foreign exchange student, says he just wants to be able to talk to people again.
“Whenever I open my mouth, people just run away. Far away. At school, they call me fluoride breathe,” he said as a tear slowly rolled down his face, reached his top lip, then immediately changed direction and headed down his cheek.
Water officials refuse to admit anything is wrong with fluoridated water, despite the obvious displays in children’s mouths.
“Oh no, everything is fine,” said water official Foolofsh Yit. “The teeth rotting, everything, it’s all just temporary. Their teeth will grow back. The people of Santa Monica just don’t have patience.”
In an effort to go green, Yit said, Santa Monica’s water supply will now produced green-colored water from taps.
“We’re all for improving the environment. What better way to contribute than through fluoridated, green water?” the official said.
Only time will tell if fluoridated water will continue to be a problem for the city’s youth or reverse its trend. But as of now, children’s mouths look more like a crack head’s than a healthy child’s.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 1, 2008. Read the original PDF.